Moving drivers seat rearward?

[xpedition xj-eh!]

I'm 6'2 and my legs are too long for my 97 and 99 4 doors with non-power seats. I'm moving my seat mounts further back. I've never had a car where I don't max out the leg room.

In the pic below you can see the main seat bracket in the lower right corner. It's a channel shaped piece of steel that is spot welded in. You need to relocate that an inch or so rearward. The trick to removing it is to drill out all the spot welds. It's not that hard to drill them out. That's where I'm at now. Then you can move it back an inch and bolt or weld it in. The rear of the seat bolts to the floor. I haven't figured that part out yet but I would imagine it involves drilling holes in the floors. I'm halfway though this so use this info as you will.

 

[DrMoab]

Assholes indeed!

This thread is a shining example of why people think our site is full of jerks.

 

[bcmaxx]

Do you have power or manual seats? I do have to replace my track since I think my beyond excessive weight killed the motors and stuck me in the same spot to some extent, only I've been thinking about swapping that out for a plain old manual track since that won't have any motors to burn out or as much other stuff to go wrong.

the switches go sour fast, motors may be just fine! Im on my 5th switch!

 

[John__505]

I am 6ft with a 01 4 dr and a full roll cage, And you talk tight. Even without the cage I would of liked to have more leg room. So you are not the only one. I just learned to live with it since I only drive it about 4k a year and wheel it.
Plus forgot to mention. It has manual seats.

Good luck and hope you get it worked out.

 

[Teephphah]

6'2" here. Not overweight. Y2k XJ limited. Driver's seat is slid all the way back and tilted back. I technically FIT, but I definitely can't stretch out and get comfortable. I'd LOVE to have even another inch to move back, but since I (occassionally but rarely) cart the kids around in the heep (they hate it - the little $h!theads), I'm not sure I can sacrifice the rear leg room which is already pretty sparse.

Oy, what we put up with for love though. Right?

 

[souske]

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

i dont know, i'm only 6'2 and i max out the seat. some people have long legs.

same.

6ft 7" and no problems huh ? that sounds like he likes his knees in his throat .
Im like 6 ft 2 and its a bit snug in there but i can live with it .

My buddy his brother and dad are all like 6ft 11" and they simply dont fit in the jeep , even for a short ride to the store.

this is however an 01 4 door without power seats . I beleive there is more room in the earlier models and possibly in 2 doors as well.

Btw Whats the Deal with all the assholes in this thread ?

Congratulations you guys have succeeded in being internet Jerks ,
Now go out in the real world and act like that so someone can knock you on your ass

i have a buddy who is quite tall as well. im 6'2" and he makes me look short. but he loves XJs. i told him he just LOOKS uncomfortable sitting in a jeep. but he knows no better. lol.

the 2 door floor board is exactly the same. no difference in seat options, other than the tilt.

 

[DaJudge]

Assholes indeed!

This thread is a shining example of why people think our site is full of jerks.

X2!

I am not quite 5' 10" and my seat is all the way back! As Expedition pointed out it will not be an easy task. You might be able to take the seat off of the brackets and drill new holes. Or maybe use some angle iron between the two to gain an inch or so. Without having it out and looking at it, it is hard to picture how this would work. But, take the seat out and take it off the rails and see if there is any way to gain some space by modifying it that way.

 

[Antiferret]

Hi mate, just ignore the wankers here...

heaps of guys here in aus have gained about 50mm (2 inches) extra by getting 30mm x 6mm x 500mm steel (2 per seat).

all you do is remove the seat/frame from car,
separate seat from frame
put steel on top of frame to mark mount holes with a sharpie
then duplicate these holes 2 inches back (any less they will interfere with each other when bolted together).

Drill holes

Mount the plates to seat with 8.8 locknut and bolts (yes rated, i dont want to have injuries on my concience)through the offset holes, then bolt this to the frame through the "original" holes.

there is a writeup on www.ausjeepoffroad.com about it. i am by no means overweight at all, but all local cars here have heaps of legroom and the xj is a tiny car. just consider it a "luxury" mod. the kids in the back can cross their legs anyway!

 

[purplexj]

Wow, 5' 10" and maxed out . I'm 5' 10" and have no problems . I think a while back someone was making brackets called Big Boy Bracket's. Basically what Antiferret said . You can make your owm or go to a metal fab shop and draw out what you need done. I agree 2dr 4dr no difference. Just that 2 doors are easier if it's used as a 2 seater. No one ever sit's in the rear of mine. The pwr seats do sit higher though. Mine are pwr and i had replaced the rocker type brackets i had in there before. I should have kept those. Mine have never had a problem though and were pulled from an 89 XJ . I think if you went to non power you would gain some room too since you would sit a little lower and may not need to alter your sitting position. If you laugh when people cut on you they tend to laugh with you. I would'nt cut on you unless we were friends . Friend to friend is in good fun. I understand how you guys feel , on both side. Ahem, i try not to take sides either. Unless i become perfect. Let us know how things work out with the brackets and/or changes.

 

[scoobyxj]

Might have something to do with electric compared to manual seats my buddy is 6-7 and doesn't have any issues in his jeep or mine. I don't have these issues since I'm 5-9 lol

(Without reading the whole thread to see if someone already mentioned it.) Yes the power seats do go back farther than the manual ones. IIRC it's about 3 inches farther. Also if you can't find or don't want to spend the money to swap in a set of power seat brackets It should be possible to remove the seat from the bracket, and drill new relocated holes where the seat attaches to the bracket.